FaZe are through to the EPICENTER 2018 grand final after beating Liquid on two maps (16-9 on Mirage, 16-12 on Inferno). The second semi-final of the tournament kicked off on Mirage, FaZe's map pick, with Liquid securing a swift 2-0 lead after winning their CT pistol in convincing fashion. The European team responded with back-to-back B executions, breaking their opponents' economy before eventually going up 3-2. The Americans found the equalizer before FaZe went on another three-round winning streak. Liquid got back on the board with a perfect defence, which they followed up with a great 3v4 retake to bring the deficit to a single round. With nothing but pistols and a saved AWP, however, FaZe picked up their seventh round, and then lost just one more to make it 9-6 by half-time. In the second half, Liquid won their T-side pistol with doubles from Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski and Keith "NAF" Markovic in a 3v5 situation, and the subsequent anti-eco. Still, the Europeans kept a very tight defence after buying up, eventually closing out the map at 16-9.  Finn "karrigan" Andersen opened up the action on Inferno with a double-kill, but it was Liquid who got off to a great start. After winning their third pistol of the series, the Americans made it 3-0 with an anti-eco and the first gun round. After that, FaZe went on a massive run, which included a heroic quad-kill from Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács in the process, losing a single round before picking up a 7-4 lead. Liquid remained calm and collected, however, and strung four rounds together to turn the score around by half-time. FaZe responded with their first pistol of the series and the following two rounds to go up 10-8. Liquid then had money to work with and found an entry-kill, but it was thanks to EliGE that they won the round as the 21-year-old denied Nikola "NiKo" Kovač from pulling off an impressive ace. However, FaZe responded with their eleventh round to reset their opponents' economy. Down 9-13, Liquid kept themselves in it after losing only one of the next four rounds, but that was not enough to stop FaZe, who won two rounds in a row to seal the deal, 16-12, and book their spot in the tournament's grand final. EPICENTER 2018Best of 3 Liquid Matchpage 0 2 28th October 2018   FaZe 9Mirage 16 12Inferno 16
Liquid #3  Nick 'nitr0' Cannella Keith 'NAF' MarkovicJonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski Epitacio 'TACO' de MeloRussel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski  Age: 21 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 940 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.69  Ladislav 'GuardiaN' Kovács  Age: 27 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 1277 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.62 FaZe #6  Finn 'karrigan' Andersen Olof 'olofmeister' KajbjerLadislav 'GuardiaN' Kovács Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač Håvard 'rain' Nygaard Keith 'NAF' Markovic  Age: 20 Team: Liquid Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 902 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.64 Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač  Age: 21 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 1.18 Maps played: 955 KPR: 0.81 DPR: 0.67 Finn 'karrigan' Andersen  Age: 28 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 0.94 Maps played: 1342 KPR: 0.64 DPR: 0.68 |